Racoș

For other uses, see Racoș (disambiguation).

Racoș (also Racoșul de Jos; German: Unter-Krebsdorf; Hungarian: Alsórákos) is a commune in Brașov County, Transylvania, Romania. It is composed of two villages, Mateiaș (Mátéfalva) and Racoș.

Racoș Alsórákos
Commune
Location within the county
Racoș Location in Romania
Coordinates: 46°1′N 25°24′E
Country	Romania
County	Brașov
Government
• Mayor (2020–2024)	Ion Epureanu (UDMR)
Area	77.78 km2 (30.03 sq mi)
Elevation	484 m (1,588 ft)
Population  (2021-12-01)[1]	3,345
• Density	43/km2 (110/sq mi)
Time zone	EET/EEST (UTC+2/+3)
Postal code	507175
Area code	+(40) 268
Vehicle reg.	BV
Website	comunaracos.ro

The commune is located at the northern edge of the county, on the border with Covasna County, and near the border with Harghita County. It lies on the banks of the Olt River, 19 km (12 mi) from the town of Rupea and 63 km (39 mi) from the county seat, Brașov. There are train stations in both Racoș and Mateiaș that serve Line 300 of the CFR network, which connects Bucharest with the Hungarian border near Oradea.

The Racoș volcano is the oldest volcano in the region, and appears to be inactive.^[2] The commune is the site of the Racoșul de Jos nature preserve [ro] and of the Racoș basalt columns [ro]. The Cotul Turzunului [ro] nature preserve is partly situated on the territory of Racoș.

At the 2021 census, the commune had a population of 3,345; of those, 41.5% were Hungarians, 31.6% Roma, and 21% Romanians.^[3] At the 2011 census, there were 3,336 inhabitants; 55% were Hungarians, 23.2% Romanians, and 21.6% Roma. At the 2002 census, 33.4% were Reformed, 23.3% Romanian Orthodox, 21% Pentecostal, 17.7% Unitarian, and 3.6% Roman Catholic.

The ruins of a Dacian fortress are located in Racoș. Alongside this the Sükösd-Bethlen Castle [ro] is a historic monument, first attested in 1636 which is also located in Racoș inside a now park. Another tourist destination is the Emerald Lake.

References

1. "Populaţia rezidentă după grupa de vârstă, pe județe și municipii, orașe, comune, la 1 decembrie 2021" (XLS). National Institute of Statistics.
2. Seghedi, I., Popa, RG., Panaiotu, C.G.; et al. (2016). "Short-lived eruptive episodes during the construction of a Na-alkalic basaltic field (Perșani Mountains, SE Transylvania, Romania)". Bulletin of Volcanology. 78 (10): 69. Bibcode:2016BVol...78...69S. doi:10.1007/s00445-016-1063-y. S2CID 133351161.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
3. "Populația rezidentă după grupa de vârstă, pe județe și municipii, orașe, comune, la 1 decembrie 2021" (in Romanian). INSSE. 31 May 2023.

The Sükösd-Bethlen Castle

Reformed church